Why the Dominican Republic?

The September 21, 1998 issue of Forbes BusinessMagazine said
"The Dominican Republic set out in the early 1990s to remake itself, reform its
government, modernize its institutions and open its economy. Now just a few
years later, a new generation of leaders has determined that the Dominican
Republic can change and compete in the global economy of the 21st century".
Foreign direct investment has grown since 1993, from US $91 million to an
estimated $624 million in 1997, and it is still growing. Over the past three
years, it rose from $1.023 billion in 2005 to $1.183 billion in 2006 and to
$1.393 billion in 2007. Wise investors have started to take notice.

The lure of the Dominican Republic is not just about beautiful beaches,
crystal clear water, luxurious tropical breezes and all of the other things that
come to mind when conjuring images of the Caribbean. In fact, many other places
you can name do in fact offer the same. So, what is so special about the
Dominican Republic? In short, it is still one of most affordable places for
tourists and for real estate investors alike. Tax free banking, property taxes
so low they are almost non existant, the ability to live very comfortably on
less than $2,000 per month ~ make the Dominican Republic the undiscovered
paradise.

Christopher Columbus did not discover America, he discovered
the Dominican Republic! In fact, he liked it so much, he decided to stay. The
odd thing is, Europeans have been coming ever since, but with less than 20% of
the tourists coming from the US, it remains a undiscovered "secret" for
Americans and Canadians. Are there other beautiful places in the Caribbean?
Sure there are, but not as inexpensive or offering so much for both the investor
and retiree.

High tax-free interest on your US dollar investments, one of
the fastest growing countries & economies, pleasant year-round climate, the
opportunity for a tax free business, and very modern health care facilities are
only a part of the attraction.

Please read the
following recent articles:

The Wall
Street Journal:

"Trying to
Be the New St. Barts; Celebrities overtake backpackers on the Dominican
Republic's North Coast"

By MARTIN
EDLUND
SPECIAL TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

SAMANA, Dominican Republic
-- The Dominican Republic's Samana Peninsula is dominated by electric-blue
waters and bleached white beaches. It's also showing signs of rapid development:
Swathes of freshly dug earth mark new resort and marina sites.
For many
travelers, a vacation in the Dominican Republic involves a stay at one of the
sprawling resorts at Punta Cana, on the east coast. But as the country tries to
expand its tourism economy, the focus is now on the north coast.
Just a few
years ago, adventurous travelers returned with stories of windswept backpacker
huts and beaches there too polluted for swimming. Now, celebrities such as Brad
Pitt have been spotted looking at properties for sale. Designer villas with
private beaches and putting greens are being rented out for $2,500 a night. Next
month, a new airport will open for charter flights and private jets.

The speed of
change in the north underscores how rapidly backpacker havens are now being
discovered, and then transformed by developers into luxury resorts. It also
highlights tourism's effect on the divide between rich and poor in the
Caribbean. It's particularly stark here in the Dominican Republic, which borders
Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

But at a time
when the region is undergoing a big expansion of luxury resorts, from Grand
Cayman to Turks and Caicos, tourism experts are asking whether the pace of new
building is ultimately sustainable.
More than 3.69 million tourists visited
the Dominican Republic last year, with four million visitors estimated this
year. Along the north coast, developments are springing up to capture some of
the influx. In the town of Puerto Plata, $30 million was spent cleaning beaches
polluted by sewage and dredging up fresh white sand. Down the coast in Cabarete
-- an area that's long attracted laid-back kite-surfers, due to the high-speed
winds off the ocean -- hip restaurants line the main strip near new luxury
condominiums. Further down on the Samana Peninsula, the first of four five-star
resorts operated by Spanish hotel company Bahia Principe open next month,
complete with heliports and beachside villas.

President
Leonel Fernandez has been courting Hollywood, even having stars like Robert De
Niro over to the presidential palace for lunch. Ten feature films have been shot
in the country in the last few years, says Eddie Martinez, Minister for Economic
Trade and Development for the Dominican Republic, including "The Good Shepherd"
(starring Mr. De Niro, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon) and "The Lost City"
(featuring Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray). Next month, Puerto
Plata will host its second annual Dominican International Film Festival, which
will draw actors like Vin Diesel.

One of the best examples of the
changing face of the north coast is Casa Colonial, a five-star boutique hotel
near Puerto Plata. Attendants in safari hats welcome guests, who pay anywhere
from $260 to $1,000 a night for the penthouse where Donatella Versace stayed
soon after it opened in 2004. A floor-to-ceiling mirror, moved in for her visit,
still stands in the room.

It was a challenge convincing travelers that
there was a quality boutique hotel in the Dominican Republic, says Roberto
Cavoli, who has worked in the local hotel business for more than 15 years and
operates Casa Colonial with his wife, Sarah Garcia, an architect who also
designed the hotel. To help establish a market, the property got five-star
certification from the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand. Now, the area is
going the right way, Ms. Garcia says: "High-end bohemian."

Around six
years ago, developers started buying cheap land in the north and building
villas. "In the last three years, there must be close to two dozen scattered
between Puerto Plata and Cabrera," says Jason Matthews, who manages 10
properties through North Coast Management, a villa rental company with offices
in the Dominican Republic and the U.S. For $20,000 a week Mr. Matthews rents out
his own property, Castellamonte, a 15,000-square-foot Spanish-style villa with
eight bedrooms, hand-painted murals on the ceilings and a putting
green.

Soon, villas in the area will be joined by the Bahia Principe
all-inclusive five-star resorts. The north coast tried this approach once
before, building all-inclusive resorts with loans from the Dominican Central
Bank in the 1970s. But many were cheaply made, say locals. The new ones will
include plenty of luxury perks. The Bahia Principe resort at Cayo Lev